The Mother City

A newspaper article in the 1930s referred to Cape Town as the world's only true metropolis, from the Greek "meter" for mother, and "polis" for city. Hence the Mother City. Which has stuck. Even the local premiership football team is called Mother City FC. Don't worry Thabang, I am still a Pirates fan! We will hopefully see something like this when we visit Robben Island later in the week (because I obviously didn't take this picture)

Personally I think "the world's only metropolis" is stretching it a bit (or a lot), but it is one of the world's great cities, with a picturesque setting perhaps known to anyone that has access to a TV or internet. Perhaps only Sydney in Australia can compare for visual impact - but that is largely due to human creations, the harbour bridge and the opera house. Table Mountain on the other hand is entirely natural and one of the oldest mountains in the world.

I don't think that many would disagree that the view of Cape Town from the bay, with Table Mountain, draped in its table cloth on an otherwise cloudless day, is hard to match. Such a perfect view is this, that I have depended on someone else to capture it.

In the meantime we have been exploring a little further afield from our suburban boutique hotel, yet another gem from Lion Roars.

The top of Table Mountain is beautifully visible from our roof top garden, but so far only close to dusk, too late to venture up the mountain itself. But we will.

So, been doing some chillin' in the sun, while we can, on the hotel roof.

Yesterday we ventured to the iconic Cape Of Good Hope, the most south-westerly point on the continent of Africa, and Cape Point, just around the corner. From here European sailors of the 16th(?) century could turn the corner and sail east to the trading riches of India and South East Asia. The origins of Cape Town were created to meet the needs of these trade routes, and the fate of the San and Khoi people was sealed. Anyway, enough of that, you've heard enough of my politics. It's a lovely atmospheric place frequented now by presumably thousands of tourists every year. Actually there seemed to be thousands there with us. This gives you a clue - the queue to take pictures at the Good Hope signpost!

And then the picture taken by every tourist who has ever visited.

But we got the required pictures looking out to sea from Cape Point back to the Cape of Good Hope,

of ourselves posing like eejits,

and the obligatory finger post, now found at every extremity known to humanity. Apparently we are from New Delhi.

We also managed a fish and chip lunch in Simon's Town

And an up close and personal rendezvous with African penguins at Boulder Beach.

All in all, despite the occasional showers, not a bad day.

The day before, the journey from Franschhoek to Cape Town took us via the pretty University town of Stellenbosch, known to many as where their South African wine mostly comes from. We passed vineyard after vineyard both on the way out of Franschhoek, and into and out of Stellenbosch. But our appointment was with a cute little coffee shop on the narrow central streets, followed by an enlightening visit to the "Village Museum" based around some of Stellenbosch's earliest buildings.

Can't remember it all of course but it was an excellent insight into early settler life, and the slavery on which it was built. So only one marginally interesting fact to share: the origins of the name Stellenbosch. Simon van Der Stel, European "founder" of the town was stood on a bushy island in the Eerste River when he decided to destroy the lives of the locals, and so, of course with the usual arrogance named it after himself and the bush (bosch) he was standing by! So now you know.

The museum was fascinating and occupied us for far longer than the 15 minutes we initially expected. I think we were in there an hour or more and needed another coffee afterwards. Not that I was allowed one!

So that will do for another blog. We have a few days left in the Mother City. Our brilliant 3 hours or more in Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens are behind us but the report on that will have to wait. The clouds look like they might be clearing on Table Mountain and its time to go.